Dump valve



May 16, 1961 H. KoPLlN DUMP VALVE Filed Feb. 2e, 1959 lnzfenvfar' #meer/oa /N ananm m United States Patent() DUlVIP VALVE Harry Koplin,Glencoe, lll., assignor to Zephyr Laundry Machinery Company, Skokie,Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 795,698

3 Claims. (Cl. 251-61) This invention relates to improvements in valvesand more particularly relates to a new and improved dump valveparticularly adapted for laundry machines and the like.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedvalve so constructed and arranged as to instantaneously dump the entirecontents of a tank or lthe like upon opening of the valve.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of dumpvalve in the form of two elongated inflatable tubes confined for agreater portion of the area thereof and having facing unconinedportions, seating on each other when inated to block the ow of lluidthereby, and contractible when deflated, to instantaneously dump fluidfrom the tank.

This application is a continuation in part of my appli cation Serial No.753,235 filed August 5, 1958 and now abandoned.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time`as the following specification proceeds and with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of a tank, with certain parts of thetank shown in horizontal section and certain other parts thereof brokenaway and looking along the discharge opening from the tank and showing adump valve constructed in accordance with the invention in associationwith the discharge opening from the tank; and

`Figure 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken substantiallyalong line II-II of Figure l.

IIn the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, I haveshown in Figure 1 a fragment of a tank 202, which may be a tank fordischarging a washing formula to a laundry machine or may be a containerfor the clothes container of a laundry machine or the like, or which maybe any form of liquid holding tank in which it is advantageous torapidly dump liquid therefrom.

In Figures 1 and 2, I have shown for illustrative purposes, aninflatable dump valve in the form of two facing flexible tubes 200, likethe flexible tube 109 and generally rectangular in cross-section andextending along and recessed within facing channels 201, depending fromthe bottom of the tank 202. The exible tubes 200 are enclosed by thechannels 201 on three sides and have facing valve faces 203 extendingalong opposite sides of a discharge opening 204 along the marginsthereof, each face of which forms a valve seat for the other face. Ihefacing valve faces 203 of the flexible tubes 200 form opposite sidewalls of an elongated passageway 20S when the tubes are deated. Thepassageway 205 leads from ice the tank 202, to a tub or shell 206 of awashing machine or the like.

As shown in Figure 6, the channels 201 are spaced apart at their ends byspacer blocks 207, engaging thick encd end portions 209 of the flexibletubes 200. The spacer blocks 207 are each of the same construction, onespacer block only being herein shown and described. The spacer blocks207 are `brought into clamping engagement with the thickened endportions 209 by machine screws 210, extending through the webs of thechannels 201 and said thickened end portions 209 and threaded withinopposite sides of the spacer blocks 207. The spacer blocks 207 on eachend of the tube each have an inwardly tapered inner end portion 211,tapered inwardly from opposite sides thereof and forming in effect awedge engaged by the free walls or valve faces 203 of the inflatabletubes 200 and sealed by said valve faces against the leakage of uidthereby. Individual air supply lines 212 lead through the thickened endportions 209 of the inatable tubes, to accommodate inflation anddeflation thereof under the control of suitable valve means (not shown),to respectively close and open l the discharge opening 204.

It is, of course, understood that the air supply lines 2212 only -leadthrough one thickened end portion 209 of each individual inflatabletube, and that the opposite thickened end portion thereof is closed andsecured to its associated channel in the same manner the thickened endportion 209 is secured thereto.

It may still further be seen that the valve of my invention effectivelycloses large area inlets when inated and instantaneously opens the inletthroughout the entire area thereof when deflated, to accommodate thedumping of the entire fluid contents of a tank or the like in a minimumamount of time.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my inventionmay be embodied, it will be understood that various modifications andvariations of the invention may be effected without departing from thespirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a dump valve particularly adapted for laundry machines and thelike, a casing having an elongated rectangular discharge outletextending therealong, facing channel-like members extending alongopposite sides of said discharge outlet, each having an inflatable tubeextending therealong and confined thereby, individual inlets into eachtube to accommodate inflation thereof, and, said channel-like membersconfining a greater portion of the areas of said tubes to the channelsof said channellike members, to accommodate the inflation of said tubesto seat on each other and block the llow of liquid through said outlet.

2. In a dump valve, a valve casing comprising two spaced rigid facingchannel-like members, said members forming a lluid passagewaytherebetween,I the inlet of which is at the upper ends of said membersand the outlet therefrom is at the lower ends of said members, anelongated flexible tube closed at its ends extending along each of saidmembers and confined thereby for a greater part of the area of the outersurface thereof, and individual inlets into said tubes accommodatinginflation thereof to seat on each other and block the ow of liquidthrough said passageway.

3. In a dump valve, a valve casing comprising two spaced rigid facingchannel-like members, a liquid inlet.

into the space between said members and an outlet from the lower endsthereof, a exible tube extending along each of said members and confinedthereby for a greater part of :the areas of the outer surfaces thereof,individual air inlets into each of said tubes accommodating theinflation of said tubes to seat the free surfaces of tubes on eachother, means clamping opposite ends of said tubes to said channel-likemembers including spacer blocks spacing said tubes and members apart andhaving wedgelike portions extending between said tubes and confining theend .portions of said tubes to seal thereagainst upon inilaton of saidtubes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

